Honey Bee
by Elade Whisperwind
Summary: Hachi is Sanji's best friend, or at least she was. He belived her to be dead, so when she shows up out of the blue it's like everythings changed. But Hachi has a new friend, and she isn't as she seems. SanOC, AceOC. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer; bla bla bla, I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters/story lines, however I do own Hachi, Nana, Shuku, Hakufu and most of the other OC's unless stated. Sapphire belongs to my friend._

So, I'm back. IDK why, I HATE , too many fangirls, too many parings and too many crappy stories, but eh, I guess it can't be helped really. I have five chapters of this already written, but updates will still probably be slow. College 'n' all, heh. And i like to have at least 2 chapter buffers or something like that._  
_

**1**

_Koneko-chan_

She had been gone four hours now. That idiotic woman, that baka brained, dark haired, naïve woman, had been gone two hours longer than she'd said she would be. It annoyed Hachi. It annoyed her a lot.

If she had known she was going to be this long, Hachi would have gone with her. Anything beat being stuck in the hotel room they'd rented. The shitty dump where the window didn't shut right and water dripped down from the ceiling, right over the bed. It was a cheap room, which was why they had rented it our or something of that sort. The pair had been running low on money and was trying to find some place they could start; again.

Hachi had no idea what her Captain and best friend had up her sleeve- she wasn't sure she even wanted to ask. But she trusted her judgement and choices, even if sometimes they didn't lead the pair where they wanted to go but in the complete opposite direction. All she had to guess by was that she was searching for someone, a family member. She'd been brief, almost like she wasn't sure this person existed.

Another drip on top of the woman's head caused her to snap her eyes open and glare at the ceiling. They would have been better off sleeping on the streets; it would have been the same conditions- just free. Mumbling, Hachi stood up from the bed before something else could drip on her head and crossed over to the small bag at the end of the bed. She rummaged around for a few moments, grumbling some kind of insult under her breath, before pulling on a dark red shirt.

Hachi was masculine in her appearance, dress style, speech and personality. She'd lost track of the amount of times people confused her for a man, it never really bothered her so much; she found it amusing more than anything. She liked to toy with women and girls who thought she was one of the most handsome, cute men they'd ever seen- at least until Nana stepped in and put an end to her fun. She was probably more jealous than anything with how she would flirt with anyone who flirted with her.

It wasn't just Hachi's looks that were masculine, her body was too. She had lack of any real curves and so small a chest she'd never had use for bras. She could easily see why people would confuse her for a man; even Nana had confused her for someone of the opposite gender when they first met.

She guessed the only person to ever see her for a woman straight away was her best friend from childhood. At the thought, Hachi brought her hand up to tug on the locket around her neck, before she stuffed it under her shirt and ran a hand through her short, chocolate brown hair.

She guessed she should go and look for her. It was a pain, Hachi had wanted to take it easy after having weeks full of restless nights where she got an hours sleep at the most; but knowing her baka of a Captain, she was likely in trouble with no way to defend herself.

Hachi stuffed her hands into her pockets and chuckled softly at the thought. She wasn't Captain because she was strong, Nana didn't really like to partake in fighting- though Hachi assumed if she had, she would have been good at it. That was Nana over and over. She was good at everything she tried, a genius some called her. She could probably be the Captain and the entire crew herself if she tried, she likely had the skills.

No, the fighting was Hachi's role. It always had been; even when she was young, working on a ship away from her home, she'd always fought. Mostly it had been silly little play fights, scraps with her best friend- they never fought seriously. It wasn't until years later that her skills had been put to any real use, but by then her dream had died out and she no longer had the heart to put into it.

It wasn't a very nice place to live, that was Hachi's first thought as she looked around. They'd arrived a few days earlier, but she'd only left the small hotel at night to find a bar or somewhere to buy food for her and her friend. There hadn't been much to see then, everyone was busy getting drunk. But it seemed that she and Nana were quite lucky where they were staying; the buildings seemed even worse, and the people were quite obviously poor, they were all working hard; even the kids who were no older than eight.

The honey eyed woman let out a small frustrated sigh and pushed the door open to the first busy tavern she'd found. She didn't even bat an eyelid at the scene, not surprised she'd found her Captain so easily either.

Nana was on the floor in front of three men and a woman, two women behind them, another man peeking around the corner of one of the woman's legs and—a reindeer. Hachi raised her eyebrow at the strange form of pet, but stayed quiet. She wanted to see what these people wanted.

But she soon found out that they'd been standing up for her, or something of the sort. Nana had stood up- supported slightly by one of the men as she glared at the woman she stood in front.

She was a tall woman, about the same height as Hachi. She was built well, and she knew it for she wore a fairly revealing outfit—Hachi noticed one of the men, the one supporting Nana trying to cover up a nosebleed or something of the sort. Her hair was a dark red, and her eyes a hazy gray colour. There was a sneer sat on her pink lips that seemed to only make her beautiful features into something twisted and ugly.

It wasn't strange for Nana to be in this situation at all, but that didn't annoy Hachi. Not much did, apart from people picking on Nana. It was easy to tell from Nana's looks she had no real way of defending herself; it was one of the reasons Hachi was always so hesitant to let her out of her sight.

Hachi tensed when the red haired woman raised her fist. She saw Nana clench her eyes and the men glare at the other woman but seemingly making no move to fight back. All but the one holding Nana up moved to avoid the woman's punch—which was probably a good thing, seeing as it seemed to pack some power behind it.

The blonde supporting the Captain made some move to lift Nana up into his arms and move—but he must have been confused to find she was no longer there. She'd been in no state to move and he hadn't even felt her go. He blinked a few times, staring in front of him where she'd been and forgetting to move out of the way of the other woman's fist. Hachi just raised an eyebrow when he yelled out some kind of compliment about how the woman's punch was only as strong as her beauty, or something dumb like that.

There was some sort of unanimous pause as the group of people searched for Nana's location, until they realised she was now in the arms of Hachi, just stood off to the side. She held her bridal style and Nana's arms were wrapped around her neck too. Hachi withdrew her glare from the red head and looked down to the woman in her arms. "Nana-kun, you need to be more careful. What did you do this time anyway?" She raised an eyebrow, leaning down slightly as Nana smiled widely.

Hachi had no doubt the other people were confused and probably thought she was her lover or something; especially seeing as Nana and Hachi's faces were inches apart. The pause lasted a while longer, until the woman glared over at Hachi. "What the hell are you doing?! Don't get involved, idiot!"

Nana laughed a little nervously, moving her head to look at her, smiling sheepishly. "I must ask you to please refrain from making Hachi-san angry, you'll end up dying."

The woman just laughed loudly and grinned. "Really, I'll die will I? I would love to see him try."

Hachi stared at her calmly and Nana winced a little; arms once again going firmly around Hachi's neck. She smiled back at the group of people now staring rather confusedly at the situation, but she'd explain after- that was, of course, if Hachi didn't drag her off for getting into trouble. "Nana-kun… Why are you wasting a warning on her?"

Seemingly not to like this insult at all, the woman growled and clenched her fist, raising it and swinging it at Hachi. She froze though, and those watching stared in confusion; at least until she slumped to the floor. Hachi's knee was in the air were her stomach had been, and she put it down slowly. "I did try to warn you," Nana said softly. She frowned though when Hachi made a move to leave the place. "I want to stay."

Hachi blinked a few times and sighed, setting down the woman on her feet and frowning a little. "You sure you can even stand?"

Nana rolled her eyes, before taking her friends hand and leading her over to the group of people. The blonde was now back on his feet with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth; he looked irritated, very irritated and he stared at Hachi somewhat curiously, almost like he didn't understand her at all.

The shorter woman rolled her eyes though when Hachi smirked at the navigator of the opposite crew. Her cheeks had turned red and she was staring at her slightly in awe; she thought she was a man. Nana grumbled a little and stared dryly when Hachi walked over and bent down in front of her—Sanji practically flipped at how close the pair was.

"You seem to be blushing quite well there… Koneko-chan," Hachi smirked, putting her hand on Nami's cheek. "May I ask why?"

The older woman stood beside the navigator raised an eyebrow for a few seconds, before she realised what was going on. She hid her snigger and smirked a little—already liking this apparently playful woman. "Well, Nami, you have good taste."

Hachi blinked a few times, glancing at her for a few seconds and realising she was playing along. She let out a soft chuckle, caressing the navigator's cheek slightly. Nami just stuttered, cheeks now flaming as she gulped, taking a step back but just hitting a wall. Sanji made some kind of move to stand up and separate them, but stopped when Nana walked up to the chocolate haired woman.

Nana mumbled an insult or something, and wrapped her arms firmly around Hachi's, almost possessively. "Don't be such a tease, Hachi-san."

Hachi laughed a little, smiling somewhat at Nami and shook her head. "You shouldn't be so jealous, Nana-kun." She paused a little, before smirking and turning to the blonde of the crew. She opened her mouth to mess with his head some—compliment him, call him cute or something and watch him flip out, but she froze.

His eyes were the same shade of blue… his hair and… the colour of his skin. She squinted and stared into his eyes, which just confused him when he blushed a little—since when was he attracted to men?! Hachi frowned a little and took a step back when she didn't find what she had been looking for, and then turned to Nana. "I'm going back to the hotel." She released her arm from Nana's grip, smiled a little but it was half hearted, and turned on her foot; simply walking out of the place.

"Na, what's with him? He's weird!"

The two elder women on the crew, the swordsman and Nana all sweatdropped at Luffy's statement; did he seriously think she was a man?! Nana sighed. "Hachi-kun is a girl."

At this, Nami's face went even redder than it had before—but it was Sanji's reaction which shocked them all. Rather than causing a commotion about the whole thing, he'd fallen back into a seat, staring dazedly after the woman. It… it couldn't have been her… could it?

Sapphire raised an eyebrow and walked over to him. "Sanji, are you okay there? You look like you've just seen a ghost." She stood back slightly, almost expecting him to yell a compliment or something, but her eyes widened, just slightly when he sat there calmly. Was he sick or something?!

"I… think I just might have…"


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

_Hachi and Sanji_

Hachi hadn't gone back to the hotel after she'd seen him; she'd been walking idly around the town, hands stuffed in her pockets and a strange expression stuck to her face. It had started raining a while back, and her hair was stuck to her face and her shirt was clinging to her body—showing off the fact she lacked a bra. She didn't mind though, she wasn't a shy person so she didn't care that if she was wearing a white shirt and you could see everything through it. In fact, she would probably have no problems walking naked through the streets of the town if she had to.

She'd found a bench in a small park to sit on a while back; she was cold sitting there, but she was too distracted to care. 'He was dead,' she thought slowly, gulping and shaking her head furiously. There was absolutely no way he was alive, but… either he had a twin- which she knew he didn't, or he'd been sat there in front of her.

Hachi let out a shaky breath which made her whole body shake and she shook her head again; rubbing her eyes from the wetness from the rain. She was too stubborn to cry, even if memories stirring in her mind were making them sting with bitterness. 'It was my fault anyway,' she thought slowly, letting out another shaky breath and gulping a little. 'He gave up everything for me… And I didn't even try to save him…'

"Besides," she said to herself, staring at the ground and blinking a few times at her reflection in a puddle. "He's different… even if it is the same person."

She barely blinked when someone sat beside her, the warmth and scent was all she'd needed to know who it was. His thigh was right against hers, his shoulder pressed to hers and his hand inches from hers too.

Neither spoke for a long time, and Sanji tried to light a cigarette but the rain kept putting it out. He sighed to himself, putting the pack and lighter away in his jacket pocket, before looking down at the woman who had hunched herself over beside him. He blinked in surprise when he saw her body shaking, perhaps she was cold; it wasn't like her to cry so openly, he knew that. When they'd been younger… If she hurt herself, she would wait until they were alone before she burst into tears. "Hachi-chan?"

Hachi closed her eyes and sniffed, sitting up straight and making an effort to make it seem as though she hadn't been crying, but it was the cold that was making her eyes red and puffy. "I thought you were dead…"

"I thought you were dead too."

There was a silence for the longest time, neither sure of what to say to each other at all. What could they say? It had been a good nine years since they'd seen each other last. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, body now shaking with her tears as she rubbed them away. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, like when she was upset as a child and he'd hug her and insult her until she hit him and stopped crying just to scrap with him. "You gave up so much for me… I didn't even try to save you."

Sanji sighed lightly, staring at her softly. He didn't wrap an arm around her waist and hold her close like he wanted. He'd heard her earlier comment about how he'd changed and he wasn't sure how she'd react to it. "I wouldn't have wanted you to go through what I went through, so don't worry…" He sighed a little, avoiding contact with her honey eyes.

Hachi shook her head, rubbing away the salty tears. It was too much for her, the past nine years she'd been wondering where he was, and here he turned up out of nowhere; almost like he'd never been gone. "I didn't even think of saving you… I was too scared that you'd be hurt…"

"I get hurt all the time," he mumbled, staring down at the tiny scars flecked on his hands. "It's not a big deal-"

"It is to me, bastard, jeez!" She yelled, glaring at him as she sniffed, rubbing her eyes again. She sighed, slumping to the side and resting her head on his shoulder. There was a long pause, before he stood up, pulling her up too. "S… string bean?!"

Sanji smiled somewhat fondly at the nickname and shook his head. "You're cold and wet… I don't want you getting sick." He wrapped his arm simply around her shoulders and started to lead her back to the ship. He'd known what she was about to say, about to think about and he wouldn't let her go there. It had been painful enough to watch it; he couldn't imagine what it was like to have been through it. He blinked at her uncomfortable expression, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"You're different," she said simply, shrugging his arm from her shoulder but still walking with him. "The Sanji I knew would have insulted me by now or started some kind of fight…"

The cook shrugged simply. "Zeff raised me to be respectful to women; I would never lay a finger on a woman to harm her."

Hachi's lip curled a little at the mention of the pirate; the one she'd thought long ago had killed him, but instead turned out had… had raised him! She wasn't sure at all any more, she was just confused. "So in other words, to you, women are nothing but fragile play things, huh?" she growled a little. "I'm not fragile and I am certainly not anyone's play thing!"

Sanji stared at her for a few moments, opening and closing his mouth dumbly, before he frowned. "That's not what I said. I would never treat a woman like that… I know you're not fragile, you used to be the shit out of my shitty ass…" he sighed a little. "A woman should never be a plaything either… they should be respected."

"Eye candy then." Hachi smirked a little when he didn't deny that he liked looking at pretty ladies or their bodies, but she felt empty inside of her because of it too. She was hardly a woman, and he used to look at her as his equal, now he looked at her as though she was above him. She'd watched him stare at Nana too earlier, but he'd yet to look at her in the same way. 'Stupid, don't get subconscious,' she thought dryly. It wasn't like her at all to care about what other people thought of her looks. She was comfortable with him.

The pair fell silent when they reached the ship and he led her up and into the galley. The entire crew from earlier were there, including Nana who'd fallen asleep and was drooling over Usopp's shoulder. No one said anything to her; they just stared in confusion at the sudden tenseness between the cook and her.

"Do you want a change of-?"

"No," she said simply, cutting him off. "I'm taking Nana back to where we're staying," she turned sharply and looked at him. "I don't want to see you again, so stay away from me," she whispered, easily lifting Nana into her arms and pushing past the cook.

It took Sanji a while to realise she'd gone and for her words to sink in. Did she hate him that much, just because he'd changed? Granted, she seemed to be pretty much the same as always, but… He'd thought they were best friends, things of that sort. He'd been there for her, watched her while she lied to him as a child, he'd given up his family for her—not that he'd ever use it to blame her for anything. And she said she didn't want to see him again, to stay away from her.

Usopp opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when the blonde left the room; slamming the door behind him and leaving a tense, angry and sad feeling in the room. Apparently, they'd have to find their own dinner that night.

Sanji thought about going down to his room, but there he'd be bugged all night by that shitty rubber boy for food. He rolled his eyes, growling to himself as he left the ship. Hachi was long gone, of course she was, she'd always been a swift runner and he never used to be able to keep up with her. He probably could now, but he'd never tell her that.

And even though she'd told him to stay away, he wasn't giving in that easily. Even if she said he'd changed, he hadn't. He was still a stubborn, shitty-head gaki who wouldn't leave her alone if his life depended on it. He was going to get her to talk to him, see him for who he was now, not who he had been.

He could feel his heart in his chest slowing down at the thought he may not be able to win her over and he gulped a little. He'd found her, and she was too far for him to touch like he used to. Even if all he'd ever get from her is a brief friendship, not strong like they had before, even if the bond of what they'd been through with each other was still there… He'd be happy, even though he wanted more from her. She wasn't Nami and she wasn't Robin or any of the other women he'd flirted with and tried to get the attention of. Hachi would pay him attention, say thank you and smile at him if he wanted it.

He sighed to himself, watching a group of drunks standing outside of a rather run down house; laughing about something. Sanji rolled his eyes at them, mumbling an insult under his breath and sitting down. The rain had let up slightly, enough so he could have a cigarette at least.

The blonde stared up at the building in front of him, eyes trailing up at the windows; until they froze at a figure stood in one of them; staring down at him with cold… but small eyes. He was used to seeing them after he left her at home when he had to go back. He'd always wait for her to appear in the window before he went inside. He opened his mouth to say something, or get her attention, but she turned around and the light in the room went off. It was going to take a lot to get her back where she belonged, at his side, but he'd make sure it happened.

A small idea came to his mind, and a smirk formed on his lips as he stood back up. Perhaps that shitty captain had his uses at times.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

_Thank you_

Hachi didn't sleep much that night; she just lay in bed, staring idly at the ceiling almost like it would solve her problems. It was needless to say, by the time morning broke and Nana woke up, she wasn't in a very good mood. Nana noticed easily by the look she gave her when she went to say something.

The pair had been quiet since.

Nana wanted to say something; suggest that instead of paying for a meal they go and visit her new friends and have some food there, but even without saying anything about them, just the thought seemed to make Hachi angry. She wasn't really sure why, but then again, Hachi hadn't been herself.

So they were sat opposite each other in a small café, eating in silence. Well… Nana ate with a lot of noise, eating plate of food after plate of food; Hachi was still on her first, picking and yet to eat anything. Food just reminded her of him, and it made her angry and… confused.

"Hachi… I know you haven't slept," Nana said, gulping down her food. "But please eat something; you're starting to worry me."

Hachi's head shot up and she stared at her friend with soft eyes. "Ah… sorry, Nana-kun… I didn't mean to worry you," she whispered, picking at a bit of the rice with her chopsticks and shoving it into her mouth unenthusiastically.

When the noise level in the café escalated, Hachi shot her head up; her honey eyes connecting with a pair of sea blue ones and she growled softly when the lot of them rushed over to their table and took a seat. "Eh, Luffy!" Nana grinned happily, staring at her new friends, forgetting about Hachi straight away.

Hachi growled softly, giving a slight warning to the blonde who'd sat next to her; and in her thoughts, far too close. He ignored it and simply sat even closer so their thighs were pressed right against each other; almost like they were best friends, if not more, again. "Monkey D. Luffy," she growled, turning her head to look at him. "I would suggest you kindly remove yourself, and your crew from this building. Your bounty is impressive, I'll admit that, but I won't be beat so easily and I want you to leave Nana alone."

Luffy blinked a few times, before laughing. "Man, you're stupid!" He laughed even more. "I want the pair of you to join my crew!"

Nana's smile instantly disappeared, and she turned her head to stare at Hachi; who now had the rubber captain pinned to the floor; the knife Nana had been using at his throat. "Listen here, _Luffy_," she growled, pushing the blade against his neck and drawing a little blood. But despite that, he just stared at her calmly; through rather sad eyes. "I have no desire to join your crew, if you want to take Nana that's fine, but you best treat her right," she sighed, dropping the knife and standing up; forcing her foot down hard on his chest; glaring off the members of the crew ready to attack her. "I will kill you if you hurt one hair on her head…" she blinked and looked at Sanji when he stood right behind her. There was a pause, before she yanked his tie and stared deadly into his eyes. "If you so much as come near me again, string bean, I'm going to break every one of your fingers off and force feed them to you before tearing your bollocks off and shooting them out of a cannon straight to Raftel," she growled, letting go of his tie and pushing him back so he fell into a chair.

There was a long pause, and suddenly, Hachi had gone. Luffy just stared at Sanji with a slight pout. "Jeez, you upset my new nakama and now she won't join!"

Nana shook her head and sighed. "It's probably not entirely him," she gave the cook a sad smile. "I know everything about her, including who… and what you are to her, but… she's had a few bad experiences with men the past year and… you seem completely different to how she explained you to me, so… that's why. She doesn't like when people change."

Sapphire blinked, sitting down beside her and frowning. "But everybody changes, even Sanji…" She did find it hard to believe he never used to be such a flirt and a ladies' man, but it probably wasn't impossible. "Why would she hate it?"

Nana gave her a sorry smile. "Her boyfriend," she paused, when she saw Sanji stiffen right up. "I should say… her ex boyfriend. He was the nicest guy we both knew but out of the blue, he just snapped when she wouldn't give him what she wanted…" she'd always had her suspicions she'd been waiting for Sanji, even if he was dead for that sort of thing, but she never said anything to Hachi about it. "Not only did he take what he wanted from her by force… he forced her to watch him have sex with another woman. She's been defensive with men ever since."

Sanji wasn't sure whether he was more angry and upset at what she'd been through on top of everything else that happened when she was younger, or whether there had been another man in her life that wasn't him, and even if it had been taken by force; that he'd taken her most personal… most special thing from her too. He could understand why she didn't like the new him, why she'd gotten so angry and jumped to the conclusion all he wanted from women was sex but… he didn't know how to change her mind.

Luffy, who pretty much hadn't listened to a single word, huffed and folded his arms over his chest. "I don't care; I want her as my nakama."

Nana sighed and shook her head. "I'll tell you what… I'll try and convince her to come and meet you guys back at your ship; okay?" She smiled a little, though it turned into a soft smirk as she stared at Sanji. "Perhaps, with Hachi, it's okay to be rough with her."

Nana smiled a little, standing up and walking off; straight after her friend. She already knew where she'd find her, and she smirked as she sat down beside her. "You have to come."

Hachi scoffed. "I don't want to be anywhere near that bastard, thank you very much." She blinked suddenly when Nana's fingernails dug into her arm, and she was staring up at her; tears in her eyes. "N… Nana-kun?"

Nana sniffed a little, rubbing her eyes with the back of her free arm. "How can you leave me? What if they… turn out to be bad people?" She whispered. "Who'll protect me? Did you see that one with the green hair? He's scary!"

The honey-eyed woman stuttered, staring at her helplessly. "I… guess in that case… it might be okay…"

There was a pause, and the ghost of a smirk appeared on Nana's lips. "And… maybe you should give Sanji a chance… he's still your best friend; right?"

Hachi opened her mouth, but closed it. She didn't want Nana upset; she didn't want her to cry. Sighing, she nodded reluctantly. "I guess… I can give him a chance," she muttered.

She kind of regretted agreeing to even stepping foot on the ship. The woman's quarters were extremely crowded and there was no space for any of them to move now, all the women thought the same, but a few of them just kept it to themselves.

"We really need a bigger ship," Nami muttered, squeezing her way through the room and sighing. Hachi had already offered to sleep with the men, but once she'd heard Luffy snoring, she'd changed her mind, not to mention when she realised it was the room Sanji would also be in.

Hachi sighed, sat on the couch in the room and shook her head softly. "It could be worse though… it could be sinking, or flooded." She gave her a small smile, and frowned, looking away when Sanji burst into the room with some kind of epic speech about how he'd cooked out of 'love' and 'passion' for the 'angels in the room'.

After giving the other four women their food, he walked over to Hachi; handing a plate out to her. "Hachi-chan."

Hachi paused and growled. "I am not an angel," she muttered, taking the plate anyway. She felt guilty, but… it was better this way. It wasn't that she was angry that he'd changed, she could see through that but… `I took so much from him… I don't deserve to even take his friendship… let alone his heart,` she thought sadly, staring down at the plate of food as she felt her eyes well up. "Thank you," she added under her breath.

Sanji smiled hugely at her and nodded, leaving the room with that. Perhaps in time she'd warm up to him again… He couldn't think of anything he'd wish for more. To see her laugh and smile again, even if it had always been faked until he'd taken her away from their home, and another thanks uttered from her lips… It would make him the happiest he'd ever been.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

_Two can play that game_

Hachi wasn't sure how long she'd been on the ship for; she didn't really want to think about it either. It wasn't the greatest experience in the world; the room was cramped, she didn't get on with a lot of the crew and then there was Sanji.

The blonde cook, her best friend she'd grown up with, the one who'd saved her when she was young from what had been happening around her. The one who'd given everything up for her, and the one she'd been too scared to even think about saving. The one she thought was dead, but was really alive.

The one who barely paid her a glance or compliment, not even the charming smile he showed to the others. The one who flirted with the other four women on the crew like they were the only four women left in the world. She hated it. She loathed it with a passion, and she wanted to be in their position, maybe it was how she looked; not womanly enough for him. But still… she'd pay him thanks, give him a smile, unlike those other women. Even Nana was as bad as that navigator, always having him run around after her, leading him on but never even--! It made her so angry.

Robin would thank him, more out of politeness than anything, and she was sure Sanji understood that Robin had no interest in a relationship, or even flirting back with him… but he still tried hard of course. And Sapphire, whose heart was already taken, but he still tried there too. He put every inch of himself in getting that smile, or a thank you, or a kiss on the cheek.

Hachi growled from where she was sat on the deck, watching him rub lotion onto the navigator, and her 'former captains' naked backs. How could the pair of them be so shameless?! Granted, she didn't care about being naked in front of anyone, and she couldn't careless who saw any part of her body, but… they were leading him on. _Doesn't he understand?_ She thought slowly, gulping as her eyes narrowed when he didn't even glance up at her as his hands worked slowly over Nana's tanned back. If he just asked her… if he tried with her, she'd smile at him and thank him… Even if she didn't want to, she knew she would. Not because it was the right thing to do, or because she felt sorry for him, and not because they may have been best friend's… once.

The honey eyed woman's hand twitched when he looked up at her; smirk clearly placed on his lips, and she understood straight away. He was trying to make her jealous; and he was succeeding too. She growled stubbornly, her own lips turning up with a smirk; it was just like those fights and bets the pair used to have when they were younger… And she didn't intend to start losing to him now. Two could play at this game; all she had to do was make it unbearable for him not to look at her, not to want to come over, and not to touch her. She was going to make him crack and fall to his knees, and she would enjoy it. She just had to pretend she wasn't the least bit jealous. Not the easiest task.

Perhaps she was getting herself in too deep, she wasn't sure. Playing this game was him… it was dangerous, that she did know but, how could he shamelessly flirt with women so seriously in front of her, just to make her jealous? Was he that heartless? Maybe he didn't care, and he just wanted her to scream that she was jealous so he could laugh at her and walk away. Perhaps that was it.

The thoughts disappeared when the blonde sat on the chair beside her, putting a drink down by the book on the table in front of her. She noted how it was different to the other women's, theirs was a pink colour—probably some kind of passion fruit, but hers was blue, and there was more of it. "What's this?" she asked stiffly, stirring the liquid with the straw inside of it, as she rested her free hand over the cover of her book. "It looks different; is it poison?"

His façade never faded once, he just sat there; cigarette dangling from his lip as he lit it. He was silent as he took a long drag on it, before he rested his hands gently on the table; never glancing at her, and instead staring at the other women. "Does that bother you?" His smirk grew. "You want to be treated the same as them?"

Hachi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You wish," she said dryly. "I don't want to be treated like some fragile, porcelain doll," she added simply, as she picked the drink up and brought the straw between her soft pink lips, almost gently. It sure tasted good; he hadn't been sat on his ass doing nothing for the past nine years; that was fact. She still remembered that brat who'd go on about that damn sea with all the fish, and how he was going to find it. Perhaps like that, with his passion of food too… he hadn't really changed much.

"So it didn't bother you when I had my hands on Nana-chan's back? It sure looked like you were bothered." Well… it didn't, it looked more like she wanted to cry than that she was 'bothered'. He didn't want her upset, but that confused him. She didn't like him like that, it was obvious, but he couldn't help but hope and try. He wanted their friendship back, but he wanted more than that and he'd settled on the conclusion that the only way he could get her back at his side, was to make her so angry she'd have no option but to admit she had feelings for him. But he wasn't sure at all. That small thank you she'd given him had made his heart flutter, but that was probably just manners.

"Do you know what bothers me?" Hachi said dryly, putting the glass down and glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. He met her gaze in a similar way, and she smirked lightly. She'd opened her mouth to tell him that what bothered her, was that ever since he'd came back into her life, she'd felt so subconscious and unhappy with how she looked. That wasn't like her, and she hated it. She hated how with just one glance, she could want to cover her chest up and how he made her feel tiny and small. But instead she just opened a page in her book and sighed. "The fact that your little concoction is pretty good. Thank you."

He wondered if it was wrong to be just content, for the moment, with a thank you, and that; even though he could have pressed the subject more, he just stood up; smiling, just a little at her, and disappeared into the galley.

Hachi swore lightly to herself and groaned; hitting her head on the table as soon as he'd disappeared. She couldn't believe she'd been so close to cracking, and yet he'd kept his cool, given her a small smile with no hidden, flirtatious meaning to it, and left. Apparently he'd gotten very good at playing these games with her.

Over the next few days, things went by slowly. The odd confrontation between Hachi and Sanji, but mainly the pair kept out of each other's way. He'd been flirting more recently, but she'd finally figured how to get her own back on him, and she wanted to watch him sweat and stutter in front of her.

It was one of the more hot days that they'd witnessed recently, it had been growing warmer and warmer recently, and while a lot of the crew enjoyed it, a few were beginning to get annoyed.

Hachi and Sanji were both fairly tolerant of the heat; Sanji obviously because he was used to it in kitchen and Hachi just always had been good with it. She'd decided it was the perfect time to train, when she knew that if she was careful with what she wore; he wouldn't be able to resist watching the sweat run down her body and she knew it would get him flustered and hot under the collar.

The chef was sat on the steps leading up the galley, jacket and tie removed, and his plain, light blue shirt unbuttoned half way. He wore a pair of cropped trousers too, which showed off the bottom of his legs—it had surprised Hachi, she hadn't seen him in anything but his suit since she'd seen him. It took every inch of her not to stare at his toned, strong chest; this was her time to tease and torment him, not the other way around.

Hachi wore a simple pale blue spaghetti strap top, which was a bit more feminine than she was used to wearing, it was tight fitting and had a small honey pot on the front of it. She wore a pair of white shorts with it, along with a pair of fingerless, black leather gloves and a pair of rather beaten up ankle boots that only had any real heel.

She'd noticed his stare when she'd situated herself on a part of the deck right within his sight, and she'd noticed his smirk fall when he realised what she was going to do. Sanji's leg twitched, urging him to leave before she did anything that would cause his mind or body to act of its own accord—but he didn't move.

He watched her through narrowed eyes as she went through basic movements, each fluid and flowing into the other, and he'd wondered how she'd ever gotten so good at fighting. She wasn't trained when they were little so she must have learnt during their time apart but he wanted to know more about it.

The cook felt his throat tighten when his eyes trailed along her body, watching the sweat. It was… possibly even better than watching Nami and Nana sunbathing on their fronts… possibly better than when they would allow him to rub lotion into their backs. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and rested his hands on his knees gripping at his trousers, and biting down on his cigarette to control and restrain himself.

Then he froze.

Wide eyed, staring at what was now happening. That… that shitty swordsman had walked up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. They were the same height, so his lips just reached her ear, and there was a smirk placed firmly on his lips as he ran his hand up her side; placing it on the underside of her arm as he whispered something, far too quietly for the chef to hear. He wasn't sure if he was conscious or not anymore, and his cigarette hit the deck when his jaw dropped. She wasn't even pushing him away.

Deciding he'd had enough of this, he stood up, ready to charge over there, pull her from him and force his lips down on hers so forcefully she'd never know what hit her but he couldn't. For at that moment, Nana, who'd been lying in the sun called him. Hachi paused in her actions, the subtle flirting with Zoro, to look over at her 'friend', then at Sanji. What would he do? Go to her or the other woman?

She watched carefully, eyes narrowing when he took a shaky step towards her, and she smirked triumphantly; until he changed his course and walked towards Nana with a slight skip to his step.

As soon as he was out of sight, she turned around and glared forcefully at the green haired man. "Don't touch me like that," she muttered, taking a step back from him. Of course, she knew he was only doing it to get under Sanji's skin; she'd seen him watching the cook's reactions to her little training session and he'd decided to wind him up more. She'd played along briefly, but enough was enough. "Don't think it'll happen again." Before he could even defend himself, Hachi had walked off.

Nana smirked softly when she felt the cook's hands on her back. She felt Hachi's eyes just like always, and just to add to her annoyance, she moved in a way that Sanji's hand accidently brushed her breast. He jumped back, blushing and hiding a small nose bleed. "I… I'm sorry!"

Nana chuckled, tying the top of her bikini up, as she sat up and smiled at him; pushing her chest out just a little. "It's no problem, your hands are soft."

Hachi growled, practically boiling with rage. She'd not been able to hear anything being said, but his hand… She'd seen that.

In one movement, she'd jumped over the railings by the galley; down in front of the cook to give him a piece of her mind, but she froze when another figure jumped up over the side of the ship; hand on his head, and the other holding onto the strap of a backpack.

Sanji's previous confusion of Hachi's sudden movements disappeared as he looked at the new figure, blinking a few times before smirking softly. "Oi, Sapphire-san!"

Nana's eyes, wide as she stared at him; jaw dropping slightly, and Hachi's soft growl as she clenched her fist. "YOU!" She growled, striding over to him.

Ace blinked a few times, smirking hugely at her and opening his mouth to comment back—but jumped when Nana latched onto his arm; staring up at him with large eyes. "Ace-kun!"

Both Luffy and Sapphire chose the wrong time to run outside to greet him; and both stared very much in confusion. Hachi glaring at him, Ace smirking back at her, and Nana latched firmly onto his arm almost like a lover would do. "_Ace-kun_?!" Sapphire growled, eye twitching furiously. There was a lot of explaining to do.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

_Cousins and Rivals  
_

Sapphire stared hardly at the two in front of her; her lover, and Nana. Hachi was sat off to the side, sending a small glare Ace's way, but anyone had yet to figure out why she was so angry with him—in fact, no one even knew how they knew each other in the first place. She wouldn't speak now, she wouldn't even tell Sanji to shut up when he tried to flirt with her.

The dark blue eyed woman wanted, needed to know what the hell was going on. How they knew each other, Hachi's sudden anger and the reason why Nana clung to Ace's arm—even know. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Hachi.

"Nana, get your arms off him, he's not worth it."

Nana pouted softly, and Ace stared at her dryly. "Oi oi, just because you're sour… don't insult me."

Surprising everyone, at least from Nana who'd known it was about to happen, Hachi slammed her fist down on the table. Some of the cutlery fell off, and the plates and glasses jumped in the air. It was surprising the thing hadn't cracked in half. "Of course I'm going to insult you, you bloody asshole! You got in my flipping way, you shitty faced…." She broke off, growling softly and clenching her fist.

"Well… you were losing."

Hachi growled more. "Then you should have let me lose or die, or whatever I was going to do then, shouldn't you?!"

"Um…" Nami cleared her throat, breaking the pair up. Hachi sat down absently on a counter, next to Sanji though she barely even noticed him stood there, until his hand rested on the inside of her knee. Not in a perverted way or in a way he was flirting with her. He was trying to comfort her, and she knew it. She didn't bat his hand away, and she noticed the tiniest trace of a smile on his lips when he realised that she had no intention to either.

Sapphire, now even more angry, had her arms folded, eyes closed and eye twitching furiously. "Would you care to explain… what the hell is going on?!"

"Uh…" he cocked his head to the side, staring at her for a few moments, before realising she was staring at Nana like she was going to kill her."You think Nana and I--?!" He broke off into a fit of laughter, even Nana laughed some.

"I don't see what's funny!" Sapphire snapped, feeling more upset that he was laughing than anything. "Who is she to you?!"

"She's my cousin," he replied simply, folding his arms. "Well… distant cousin… but she lived with us up until Luu was born." He looked to said captain, smiling gently. Of course his younger brother didn't know who she was; he hadn't even known he had a cousin.

"O… oh…" Sapphire said slowly, blinking. Now she just felt like an idiot. "W... well… why's Hachi so angry with you?"

"Uh well… when I was with them a few months back… she got into a fight- she was losing I should add-" he winced when she practically snarled at him. "So I stepped in, it's just her pride that's injured." He thought she should just get over it.

"I already told you, you should have just let me die or something!" Hachi snapped, jumping up to stand just in front of the blonde cook. "That was **my** fight. I could have handled it."

He opened his mouth to say more, but just kept quiet when he noticed Sapphire's stare. They were obviously nakama now, and he guessed he wasn't really in the right. He knew Hachi was far stronger than she let on and it wasn't just a casual fight either… But he hadn't known that at the time.

Nana smiled a little, clinging to her cousin's arm more and smirked when she noticed Sapphire's eye twitch. Most of the women around here… it was far too easy to get under their skins; especially Hachi, she'd known that ever since she'd noticed how she stared at Sanji, he was her weakness.

With that situation settled, the crew dispersed back to their previous activities; minus Nana, Ace and Sapphire who were just sat there; staring at each other. Well… Nana and Sapphire glaring at each other, the younger woman having a death grip on Ace's arm, while he stared between them, confused.

Mumbling under her breath, Hachi left the room simply. Not a single glance at anyone in the room, not even Sanji. She sighed as she stood at the back of the ship, arms rested on the railing as she stared at the sea.

It had gotten dark since they'd been inside, being only evening when Ace had arrived, and it had gotten colder too. The sky had even been illuminated with the moon and covered with stars.

Hachi stared simply at their reflections in the sea, and frowned when she saw Sanji walk up behind her, before leaning on the railing beside her. "You got pretty angry for just a fight," he said softly. He didn't want to insult her, he just wanted… wanted to understand.

"It wasn't just a 'fight', Sanji," she said hardly, glaring at his reflection in the water. "My close friend and eternal rival…"

"Rival?"

"Shuku. Her name is Shuku," Hachi whispered. "After that wreckage… I met her and she gave me the will to live… after I thought I lost you," she said quietly, almost so it was inaudible. "She got me interested in martial arts, but no matter how many times I fought with her… I could never lay a finger on her." She sighed, resting her forehead on her hand and lacing her fingers in her short, chocolate brown hair. "Why? I asked myself, why is she so strong? Is there such a huge difference between us? So I left in order to get stronger… but in my time away from her… she'd grown so much stronger she's now known as the worlds greatest…" Hachi turned to look at him, and smiled, just a little to herself when she saw him taking in her words.

Seeing her smile in her reflection, the cook smiled back, much larger than he'd smiled at her before. "So you were fighting her?"

"For that title…. For that dream…." Before she said anything more, Hachi stood up straight, a strange look on her face. Sanji stood up straight so he could look at her properly, and raised his eyebrow. "But that's an old story, and my dream doesn't exist anymore. I have more important things to do than scrap with rivals."

Hachi turned to walk off, but stopped when he sighed. "What is it?"

"There's no games, is there anymore? Nothing like it used to be. We're adults, we're mature." He paused, staring at her somewhat desperately. "We understand how we feel."

"Sanji," she warned gently, shaking her head. "Don't go there. If you want it to be like when we were children, sharing showers and a bed… then search your memories, because I can't be like that with you anymore."

"Can't… or won't?" He narrowed his eyes. If it was 'won't' he could give up now, settle for friendship, but if it was 'can't' he could change it. Can't was more like maybe anyway, it was never no and usually meant yes anyway.

"That's enough, Sanji," she whispered, rushing off before he could even open his mouth to say any more.

Once she was down in the women's quarters, Hachi lent back against the door, eyes clenched tightly and chest rising heavily. Why did he have to make it so hard? Didn't he get it? She watched him with loving eyes, but they were distant. She could never be 'that' with him, she'd already taken far too much; taking his heart would just be cruel. "Damn him," she growled out, tears streaming down her face. "Damn him…."


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

She wasn't really sure why she decided to keep herself cooped up in the woman's quarters the whole time. Perhaps the thought of facing him was just too hard. Well, she guessed it didn't matter either way… She could hear they were having fun without her; he hadn't even tried to get her out of the room.

Hachi growled angrily to herself, repacking all of her clothes into the small bag in which they fit and frowned. She wasn't needed, Nana fit in with these people a lot better than she did and being around him… it unearthed things she didn't want unearthed. Feelings she wanted to hide, memories she'd forgotten… everything. "Not to mention he is a complete and total asshole," she muttered, growling as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

Leaving was perhaps rash, but what else was she supposed to do? Hachi took one last look at the map on the Navigators desk and sighed in frustration. There was one small village on this island, far on the other side nestled in some mountains, and what was worse… was that it was freezing and covered in snow. She hated snow; she hated it so bitterly she was kind of glad that Ace's heat seemed to hold off the actual snow fall.

She scoffed at the thought of him, and walked up onto the deck of the Merry go.

When she walked outside, she couldn't help but smile. The captain and the doctor of the ship were already on the snow covered island, playing in the white. Obviously the Reindeer loved this weather, so he was in higher spirits than usual.

She wasn't surprised to hear Nami and Nana complaining though, both making Sanji run around after them with hot drinks. Nami, she'd expected, but Nana… she'd changed somewhat recently. She was self centred and she didn't like it. "Nana," Hachi frowned, walking over—completely ignoring the chef who was staring at her dumbly, stood rather stiffly. The two mugs of hot drink shook in his hands from where he was holding them so tightly, and he opened his mouth, but closed it when Hachi didn't even regard him.

Nana raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you going somewhere?"

Hachi rolled her eyes. "I'm leaving; you're free to stay though-"

Nana shot up, grabbing her arm. "You can't leave, Hachi!" she gulped, staring at her frantically. "Luffy! S… Sanji! Say something to her!"

Sanji was at a loss. "I…" Nothing he could say would make her change her mind, he'd noticed how she just got more angry with him the more he tried to talk to her. He'd given up now; even if Nami didn't look his way twice at least she played along some times. Hachi didn't.

Hachi stared hardly at Nana, removing her arm from her grip and huffing, just a little. "I'm sick of it all, Nana," she whispered, staring at her almost coldly. "You're one of the reasons why I'm going."

She turned and left before she could say anything else. When the captain tried to get her to stay, she grabbed his limbs and tied him in the tightest knot she could find, before burying him under the snow.

Sanji just stared.

How could she be gone so easily? He felt his throat close as he returned to the galley, now ignoring the other women's requests. He… didn't want to. He felt strange, sick almost and… He sighed, putting the empty mugs down—jumping just a little when the door flew open, and Nana flew in.

It seemed slow motion to him. One minute she stood there, the next she was latched onto him crying into his chest and the next… He had her pinned against the wall; lips on hers firmly. Her arms snaked around his neck as she kissed him back, and he couldn't be sure but… she was smirking at him.

Almost as if realising his mistake, he tried to pull away from Nana but he couldn't. He felt like he couldn't do anything anymore. Not because he was at a loss of why Hachi had left, but… Nana seemed to… He gulped, staring at her confusedly as she played with his tie, smirking up at him as she pulled away.

"Now, chef-san, you're going to do everything I say, right?" When he couldn't help but nod, she chuckled, running her finger along his jaw. "Good; very good."

Hachi growled to herself, trudging through the snow. She'd half given up on finding this village. She'd left three hours ago, and everything still seemed the same. Sighing as her stomach growled, she decided taking a break would be good, but nothing seemed good enough. It was all white and cold.

It wasn't until she spotted a small cave, that she decided that she wouldn't head to the town at all. Once they'd left… she'd head back to the shore and find a different ship or something.

She sighed, making herself comfortable in the cave and lighting a small fire. She didn't have food on her as such, just a small amount. Rice she'd taken from the panty when she'd decided she would leave, and that was mostly it. Fruit and vegetables would spoil, but she'd found a few wild fruits and mushrooms in the snow outside.

She had no idea if they were edible, but she'd eat them anyway. If they made her sick and killed her, then she'd have nothing to worry about.

As night set in, and she stared at the entrance of the cave, half expecting someone to pop up there, she felt tears brew over her eyes. Sanji obviously didn't care at all, he hadn't come after her. 'I hate him,' she thought sadly, clenching her fist as she buried her face into her knees. 'I hate him so much.'

Sapphire didn't get it.

She'd thought the blonde had loved the brown haired woman who had gone missing—it wasn't until Chopper told her that Hachi had left that she was actually confused. Sanji should have gone after her, that was her thought, and she thought he would have wanted to as well. However, there was no dinner and the captain was just complaining. "Why isn't there food?!"

"Sanji is in the men's room," Sapphire said stiffly. "Nana is in there with him, moaning quite loudly I should add."

That was it. He was sleeping with her when he didn't even care about her. In fact, he'd forgotten about feeding them for her, something was wrong and she didn't like it. "Well, we can't just sit around here," Nami huffed, standing up. "I can't believe I'm saying this… but seeing as we'd starve if we didn't…. we should find the town and eat there."

"You're going to pay for it?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking softly.

"No, you can pay me back with interest," she grinned.

Sapphire sighed, grabbing her lovers hand as she followed out after the Captain and the doctor. The pair of them had gone quiet since Hachi left, but she couldn't help but think they were being depressed for nothing. No one had tried to befriend Hachi, sure she was rash and loud and had a bad temper, not to mention she was hesitant to befriend anyone, but… no one had tried. They'd all sat back and watched her heart break as Sanji swooned over the navigator and Nana.

Even Nami felt a little guilty, she'd been doing it more on purpose to see if Hachi would finally snap and confess—it would do her a favour, Sanji would concentrate more on Hachi and leave her alone for five minutes or so.

The crew walked in silence.

"Where is this town?" Luffy groaned, his stomach growling as he whinged a little. This island seemed small, but… either they were walking in circles, or it went on forever.

"I can smell food and humans," Chopper frowned, nose twitching as he led them on a little more—frowning when he stopped at a cave, rather than a town. "There's someone in there."

They fell silent, not sure what to do. If it was a hostile person… none of them were in the mood to deal with it. Choppers nose pricked again, and his ears pricked up. "It's Hachi! I can smell her!" Without waiting, the small reindeer ran into the cave—but paused almost instantly.

The remains of her fire had long since died away, the fruit she'd eaten had one bite taken out of it, and she was curled up in the corner. She was breathing, but it was laboured, Chopper didn't even need sensitive ears to hear her struggling. "H… Hachi?" he whispered, walking over and prodding her with his nose. She didn't respond.

He gulped, she was cold- her lips were blue and she was practically freezing up. Not to mention she'd eaten something he couldn't identify but it didn't smell very good. Growling just slightly, the doctor managed to shift her onto his back and carried her out.

"W-what's wrong with her?!"

Chopper stared up at Nami. "We need to get her back to the ship and we have to get her warm, she'll die if we don't hurry."

Nana smirked, staring down at the naked, fast asleep chef. Now she had a grip firmly on him, a kiss… he was hers, but sex? She chuckled, pulling her clothes on. Hachi would be devastated; she could just imagine the look on her face if Hachi found out.

Nana sighed happily at the thought, but made somewhat of a grossed out sound as she went for a shower. She didn't like him. She hated having his lips on hers, and his hands crawling over her body. She didn't understand at all how Hachi could love him as much as she did.

She sighed, having him inside her was worse though. It made her almost sick to think about it, though he'd collapsed before he could peak, and she'd pulled him out—just working him with her hand as he slept. He wouldn't belong to her if she couldn't pleasure him up to his peak, but now she had, and he would never be able to say no to her.

'Now I just have to find Hachi,' she thought with an annoyed sigh.

The ship was quiet.

Nana was happy though, Hachi had been brought back, though she was sick and she'd been in a coma for the past few days, she was still there. She chuckled, grabbing the cooks hand and walking into Choppers medical room, pushing him down the bed beside Hachi.

She hadn't even moved, and she'd been lucky that she was found. Chopper reckoned she could have died if they hadn't come across her.

Nana chuckled as she locked the door. The crew were asleep, her own little twist to Sanji's food. They were all passed out in the kitchen, it was just these two now.

"Oi, Hachi," she frowned, shaking her slightly. She barely stirred.

Rolling her eyes, Nana moved to straddle the chef's hips—kissing him straight away. She'd make sure Hachi woke up to her worst nightmare, she wanted to see her scream and cry; she wanted to see her heart shatter. She… wanted her to feel like there was nothing she could do but die.

Nana closed her eyes and smiled ruefully at the thought. She'd enjoy that, seeing her die. She'd even get Sanji to assist her. Now that would really destroy Hachi… having Sanji help her kill herself.

She chuckled, smirking when Hachi's eyes opened slightly as she removed the blonde's trousers and underwear, pulling her own underwear down under her skirt. "Oh, Hachi?" she smirked, looking at her.

Hachi's eyes widened as she saw what was going on. Right beside them… and she couldn't move, and…. Her eyes watered. Sanji and Nana…. Beside her, in the same bed. She was sat on top of him, and she could tell by his moans he was buried inside of her too.

It seemed slow, and she couldn't move. She couldn't even look away as Nana screamed at her peak, pulling away. Hachi winced, seeing Sanji's manhood laced with hers and his juices, how could he? 'Does he hate me that much…?' she thought, clenching her eyes to stop the tears, but she couldn't help but break down into tears.

"Doesn't it make you want to die?" Nana whispered, staring straight into her 'friends' eyes. "Doesn't it just make you want to take your own life?"

Hachi sobbed, covering her mouth weakly with her hand. "W… why?"

Nana chuckled, staring at the cook. His eyes were lifeless, and he hadn't moved—almost like he was a rag doll. "You love him, right?" She chuckled, but it soon built up into a high pitched laughter. "I want to see you suffer, Hachi, I want to see everything you love taken away… I pleasured him, see, he enjoyed it. He wouldn't have—"

Hachi shook her head, covering her ears. She couldn't hear any more, Sanji and her…. He'd betrayed her. He'd claimed at one point to have feelings for her, even if he hadn't admitted it because she'd stopped him. How could he do this to her?

"Do you want to die, Hachi?"

The honey-eyed woman nodded weakly, staring at her; the heartbreak evident in her eyes.

Nana chuckled, watching as Sanji sat up and stared down at the other woman. Tears spilled from her eyes even more, and she whimpered as he picked up one of his knives that were laid carelessly on Chopper's desk.

But he'd always said that they weren't for killing, Hachi… didn't get it. Did he hate her that much? She closed her eyes painfully as he pressed the cold blade to her throat—his eyes staring straight into hers.

"I…. love you," she said weakly, staring at him as her tears continued rolling down her cheeks. She gulped when he pressed the blade against her skin hard enough to draw blood, she could feel it run down her neck and she closed her eyes. He… didn't even care. "I love you."

Nana smirked, watching her whimper weakly. It was ironic, the one she loved was going to kill her, and he would do it slowly. She would enjoy this, and nothing would stop it from happening either.


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Hachi wasn't sure what to do.

The blade against her throat, his eyes staring into hers; tears rolling down her cheeks. It was like hell. He'd slept with her, in the same bed... now he was trying to kill her and... She clenched her eyes and whimpered when his hand trailed up her side; roughly and firmly. "S.. Sanji, please," she whispered, opening her eyes and gulping when his were closer; his lips inches from hers, and his nose just touching hers. "Don't... do this."

Nana tutted in the back ground, and stood there with her arms folded. "Hurry up, I have places to go," she rolled her eyes, before smirking widely at her _friend_. "You know, he's coming with me; we might get married or something, of course... Only because you want him so badly," she grinned somewhat and let out a raspy snicker. "You should have told him how you felt while you still had the chance."

Hachi didn't understand. He was doing it for Nana, but why? Did they both hate her so much? So much that... he'd kill her, and she'd just stand there watching?!

She thought about letting out a weak plead for help, but his hand clamped over her mouth when she opened it. She went to bite his hand, force him off her; but her body was weak, and even though she could bite him... His hands were his treasure, he really would hate her if she injured them; and she loved him too much to ever hurt him.

He pressed the blade further against her throat and she choked, spluttering blood on his hand. He hadn't done enough to kill her, but her throat was already murder, he'd probably ruptured a vessle or something. She thought pleading with him would do some good, maybe tell him she loved him again; this was why he was doing it, right? Because she'd told him not to say he loved her, because she wouldn't trust him enough to let herself love him.

But in an instant, his hand had left and his lips were placed against hers. His hand was rested on her now exposed stomach and his hand on the inside of her thighs. Perhaps it was wrong to kiss him back, but if it was the last thing she did... even if he hated her... She sobbed a little, but her eyes widened when he flew back; hitting the wall and sliding down it, until he lay on the floor; unmoving. Her first thought was that he was dead, but she saw his fingers twitch and she let out... some sort of sigh of relief.

Nana's eyes widened as she turned to the new person and growled; there were three of them. That idiot swordsman, who seemed still half asleep. Sapphire, who... looked rather much like one of those 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' so much, that Nana visibly flinched. And last was that idiot captains brother, who also looked half asleep.

"I thought I smelt something bad," Sapphire said, sniffing as she stareed at her.. probably too calmly for the others taste. Both the men instantly moved back as she let out a soft growl. Did she have to wake them up, honestly?! She was scary!

"There was enough knock-out powder in that drink to knock out a fully grown dinosaur; how the hell are you still awake?!" Nana sneered, but smirked when Sanji pushed himself back; staring at the three like he was half dead, not there... like he was a marionette or something.

Sapphire smirked. "I guess it had no effect, I can heal things... I must have healed myself from it or something..." she trailed off, staring at Sanji and frowning. "What did you do to him?"

Nana chuckled. "I kissed him," she said simply. "And then I slept with him, although he passed out before he could peak." She laughed when Hachi winced and buried her face into her pillow. The woman paled when Sapphire suddenly had her pinned to the wall; eyes deadly and a soft growl from her throat. Neither Ace nor Zoro did anything to try and stop her. "Okay," Nana seethed out. "I drugged him, and it's irreversable too, he's going to be like that for the rest of his life."

It was silent for a while, before Sanji took a few steps to remove Sapphire from his 'mistress', but he stopped short when Hachi lept out of her bed; wrapping her arms around him from behind. She felt a little embarassed, she was only wearing a long shirt, but... She shiffed; burying her face into his back as she held onto him firmly. She wanted him back, she wanted _her_ Sanji back; flirt or not. "Please," she whispered, sniffing. His shirt must have been wet, she was crying so much it would be impossible for him not to feel it either. "Sanji, I love you!"

Sanji paused for a moment, before turning around and wrapping his arms around her. Her face visibly lit up and she stared up at him with a soft expression as he kissed her softly. She wasn't sure what happened, but she liked it.

He pulled away and smiled gently. "You love me?" he whispered, pausing. It... Hachi... She gulped when he suddenly pinned her to the wall; strong hand wrapped firmly around her throat and his knee in her stomach to pin her against it.

Hachi gasped for air; his grip was so tight that her vision was going blurry, or maybe that was just the tears. She wasn't sure. "S... Sanji-" she slumped down to the floor as he was knocked away; a murderous looking swordsman standing protectively in front of her. She'd gotten close to him recently, in a sibling sort of way. She looked at him like some sort of brother or something.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you stupid love-cook?! This isn't the time to play games!"

Sanji stared at him calmly. "I'm not playing."

Zoro growled, clenching the hilt of his sword tightly. He didn't want to hurt him, he was still his nakama, and there had to be some way to get through to him! He couldn't be like this forever; he hated to admit it, but he missed the old Sanji a lot.

Sapphire sneered. "There must be a way to reverse it," she muttered, folding her arms. Her devil fruit had stopped her from getting knocked out, and it had somehow healed the other two from whatever it was she'd done. Maybe it would work on Sanji too, but.. for now she stayed back. Watching Nana carefully was the important thing.

"Hmph," Sanji muttered, lighting a cigarette and sighing softly. "Is it wrong to want the obstacle out of the way so me and my darling Nana can be together?"

Zoro almost flipped, and he stood aside; but remained calm. "Tell me how you feel now," he whispered, looking down at Hachi himself. She'd curled herself up into a ball, and she was crying freely, although it was silent. "You really want her to cry like that?"

Sanji gulped and looked away. "I want her to die." His words only cause Hachi to let out a sob, and he flinched; looking back as he saw her shirt getting stained with blood... fromt he cut on her throat. He gulped, trying to breathe for air frantically, because it suddenly felt like he couldn't.

"She loves you, idiot, you're going to throw away the first woman who actually likes you back?!"

He didn't know what to do; he felt torn. Part of him wanted to do as Nana said, kill her and leave with her, get married and... But most of him wanted to comfort Hachi; he loved her, not Nana she was just... Well he felt guilty about that, he'd taken her even if it wasn't his choice.

His mind grew clear slowly, and he let out a shaky breath as he sat down beside Hachi; pausing, before wrapping his arms firmly around her. She instantly latched onto him instantly; sobbing into his chest as he moved her so she was sat in his lap. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, kissing the top of her head gently as he took his tie off; pressing the silk fabric against her neck to stop the bleeding. "Forgive me, Hach'-kun... please."

Sapphire chuckled, turning to Nana with a smirk. "Seems like Sanji found how to shake off your control rather easily, huh?" She only chuckled more when Nana sneered at the pair, then at her; before making a mad dash for the door.

Ace grabbed her instantly; hand wrapped around her wrist firmly. "Going somewhere?"

Nana paused for a moment, before smirking andmoving to press herself against him. "You... wouldn't really hurt-" she broke off when she suddenly fell to the floor; Sapphire stood behind her, glaring at her and fuming.

"Get your hands off him," she muttered, smirking ratehr proudly, before staring at Ace somewhat possesively. "He's _mine_."

When the rest of the crew came too, most of them weren't against killing her or throwing her overboard; but since they were docked at an island anyway, Luffy just told them to abandon her there. He felt bad about it, but it was the better thing to do; he didn't want to kill her, even if she had hurt his nakama.

Hachi had ended up back in a coma soon after, the bleeding and the events had exhausted her mind and body, and she wasn't able to control herself. Chopper expected it anyway as soon as he woke up and saw her; she shouldn't have even been awake.

Sanji was stood on the other side of Chopper's medical room; staring at her, but he kept his distance. He'd hurt her, he'd caused all of this; it was his fault. He was scared that if he went near her, she'd never wake up or worse; she'd die. He would never forgive himself.

It was safer for her if he stayed away, he thought about leaving the crew; but they needed a chef otherwise they'd die. He'd just... stay away from her, even if it hurt him. He remembered it all; what happened with him and Nana, he hated her having his first kiss and taking his virginity; it was something he'd saved for Hachi and Hachi alone. But now he couldn't give that to her, and he'd stolen a kiss from her too, one that hadn't been out of love at the time.

And she loved him, and in return he'd tried to kill her.

He ran his shaky hands through his hair and let out a sigh. He was a monster, he couldn't ever look at another woman again. He'd vowed never to hurt one, and he'd almost killed the woman he loved most.

He could... never make it up to her. "I'm sorry," he whispered, walking over and kissing her forehead firmly. "It's for the best if you stay away from me, and I away from you." He left instantly, he thought about cooking but he just lay in his hammock; back to the door as he stared at the wall almost in a trance. He held his pillow close, along with one of her t-shirts he'd taken when she wasn't looking; it still smelt of her and he buried his face into it; mainly so no one would see he was crying if someone walked in. "I'm so sorry, Hachi-kun... I love you...."

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_A/N: So I'm back at college from next week, so updates will get slow again. Not that they've been particularly fast, but that's not the point. But reading reviews for everything I've written inspires me, and helps me to write. Chapter eight is in the works, by the way :)_


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